You don't have to be a parent to know that a sick child can be, well, a bit hard to handle. Now imagine having 19 children, 12 of whom are suffering from chickenpox at the same time. Welcome to the wonderful world of the Duggar family.

RadarOnline.com scored an exclusive clip from the Duggar's reality show, "19 Kids and Counting." In the video, father Jim Bob Duggar explains how the outbreak started with daughter Johanna. One thing led to another, and now 12 of the kids are sporting itchy red spots.

Wonderful world or not, to each his own. Frankly, I think they are out of their minds. Good thing for all those kids they were able to snag a reality show or else they'd be living a completely different kind of life. They surely wouldn't be posing in front of that sprawling ranch. I think the parents are cultish and odd. That's just my opinion.

I'm not so sure they wouldn't still have their home.... As I understand it, The Duggars were pretty well-to-do in their own right even before they got their reality show. Jim Bob and Michelle were both real estate agents and made their money from commercial investments.

They built their home as a family project.....

Constructing the New Duggar Home: A Family Project

The Duggar family is the focus of the reality show on The Learning Channel, 18 Kids and Counting. However, before they got their own show chronicling their lives in Tontitown, Arkansas, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar started imagining their dream home. They wanted a place where all their children could eat, sleep, study, pray, play and live without stepping on top of each other. They also envisioned a home where they could all sit down together and eat a family meal.

Most of all, the Duggars wanted their new home to be a learning project and a family affair that everyone can work on together. They put their noses to the grindstone and started designing their 7,000-square-foot home from top to bottom, inside and out, and they got what they wished for. TLC was even on hand while it was being built and when the family moved in, chronicling the events with the special, The Duggar Dream Home.

Staying Debt-Free

The Duggar family prides themselves on being debt-free and not using credit cards to pay for anything. Because the Duggars already owned the 20 acres their new home sits upon, there was no need to seek out loans to pay for the house. Instead of hiring contractors, they sought out family and friends to help construct the all-steel home, which was built from two do-it-yourself kits. Their appliances were purchased at auction for a mere fraction of the original $100,000 cost. They scavenged store and restaurant closings for items including a serving line and swing doors from a Kmart that went out of business and a canopy from Schlotzsky's Deli that shut down.

Through budgeting and saving, the Duggar family paid for a majority of the new construction and furnishings but received some sponsorship from the Campbell's Soup Company, Huggies Diapers, Home Depot, Sears and Home Decorations Collection among others. In an attempt to keep spending low, the family cooks most of their meals from scratch and makes their own laundry detergent, among other items.

http://reality-tv.lovetoknow.com/Duggar_Family_House

Their 650 square meters (7,000 square-foot) house was built by hand by the Duggar family themselves over the course of three years with minimal assistance from friends, primarily in the form of instruction. The home was completed on January 20, 2006.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19_Kids_and_Counting

Each to his own, and I certainly wouldn't want 19 kids (the two I have is just right for me), but I have to admire how they live their lives. I understand how they might seem cultish to some people, but they are a very close-knit family. And how many Americans live completely debt-free these days? They do for themselves, and I believe that is representative of the way Americans USED to live..... a long, long time ago.

Good to know. I know how my parents suffered growing up with more than 10 kids in each family. Not to forget large gardens and canning, raising farm animals to feed everyone. Homesewn clothes and quilts. It was a hard life because they had so many mouths to feed. My mother was the youngest of 14. Her oldest sister (20yrs older) told her later in life the older kids were ashamed their Momma and Daddy were still making babies when the older ones were married and/or dating. So my view comes from personal accounts from my parents and their upbringing.

lol Julie.... I cantr watch Kate (except oon dancing with the stars where she was sooooo entertaining... the "Papp" dance was a hoot!

As a rule, I wud have never liked a show like the duggars but I have actually become quite attached to it... Once I found out that they had been established long before the show, I was glad that the kids werent being used as money makers....

What I personally like about the show so much, is seeing the family operate... I am refreshed to see so many ppl having such a strong family value, and unconditional love.. I like how such an unusually sized family, with old fashioned morals/values can exist in the world we live in today and somehow always fit in....

My favorite is umm, I cant think of his name but I know it starts with a J...???? lol

I wish them all a happy recovery, and suspect they are all being comforted by one another and making the best of it...

I have only ever seen their show one time, and my daughter was watching it with me, so she filled me in on some the details about the Duggars....

The more I learn about their family, the more impressed I am with them. They have raised (and are raising the younger ones still) with morals and values. That's something we don't see a whole heck of a lot these days... especially in that generation.

And it also warms my heart to see them making their kids work for the things they have. Even though I'm sure they could afford to, they don't just hand over all the little luxuries we have all come to take for granted in our lives today. I'm referring to things like cell phones, iPods, etc.

Please don't anyone misunderstand me. I'm not saying they don't have them. I'm saying I believe the kids work towards these things.